Grain door and method of forming



July 3, 1962 M. J. FORD ETAL GRAIN DOOR AND METHOD OF FORMING Filed Dec.8, 1958 TI I I IIIII III! I w I MTIIIIIIIIIIHIIIIIIIIIII IIII; III I IIIIIII I III IIII II I I I I r I IIIII II I II I III I I M ki gy/ mya I II I I l I I A I Fun 111!!! IIIIIIIIIII55:57:lrlvlalvllullanvlnlvlIIIIIIIIIIIIII3:455:51:5257511414144:IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ilulvrvallununinivuu:I: v.IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIII\IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII II II II II I I I I I I I I I I I I I b I I I1L II I DI I I I I I I I I l I III II II I I IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIII III. 7 5%:

ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent U 3,042,112 GRAIN D0912 AND METHOD OF FDRMINGMichael J. Ford, l-lartsdale, N.Y., and Barton H. Ford,

Omaha, Nehr., assignors, by mesnc assignments, of

one-half to International Paper Company, New York,

N.Y., a corporation of New York, and one-half to The Stanley Works, NewBritain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Filed Dec. 8, 1958, Ser.No. 778,790 Claims. (Cl. 160-368) This invention relates to a grain doorand method of forming the same, and, more particularly, to a closure fora railway car doorway to prevent the escape of granular material fromthe car.

An object of the present invention is to provide a grain door and methodof forming the same whereby the door can be fabricated in an inexpensivemanner and set up and employed with a minimum of labor and effort.Another object is to provide a method for fabricating a grain door thatlends itself to machine operations so that the door can be completelyfabricated at low expense while at the same time providing a door whichmay be installed with important new advantages. A still further objectis to provide a grain door which may be completely fabricated andequipped with reinforcing means at the site of manufacture so that aminimum of work is entailed in installation. Yet another object is toprovide a novel grain door and method of fabricating the same in whichthe door at the time of fabrication is equipped with edge reinforcingmeans that are effective to protect and maintain the door during storageand handling prior to installation and which serves to effectivelybolster the door when installed. Other specific objects and advantageswill appear as this specification proceeds.

The invention is shown, in an illustrative embodiment, by theaccompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective viewof a railway car interior and having a closure of the inventioninstalled in the doorway thereof;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view of the closure in anintermediate stage of fabrication; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2.

In the illustration given, the letter A designates generally a railwayfreight car such as is employed in the trans port of grain. The car A isequipped with a floor designated by the letter B and with walls C inwhich a doorway D is provided. The doorway D is defined in part by thevertical side posts seen only in FIGS. 1 and 4. In stalled across thedoorway D and secured to the inner surfaces of posts 10 is a closure ofthe invention, designated generally by the numeral 11.

The closure 11 is a generally rectangular panel and includes twolaminated panels 12 and 13 which are united in superposed, face-to-facerelation.

Each panel 12 and 13, as illustrated, is a corrugated paperboard panelhaving outer liners and a central corrugated core. As best seen in FIG.4, the panel 12 is equipped with liners 12a and 12b, the liner 1212being spaced inwardly of the posts 10. The corrugated core of panel 12is designated by the numeral 12c, and can be best seen in FIG. 2 sincethe flutes of the corrugations in core 120 extend horizontally. Insimilar fashion, panel 13 is equipped with liners 13a and 131'), withliner 13b providing the interior surface of the closure 11. Also, panel13 is equipped with a corrugated core designated by the numeral 130,which can be best seen in FIG. 4 inasmuch as the flutes of the coreextend vertically. Each panel 12 and 13 is equipped with spaced-apart,flat metal straps 14 and 15, respectively. The straps 14 and 15 in eachpanel 12 and 13 are arranged parallel to an edge of the panel and arepositioned interiorly of the panel as between a liner and the corrugatedcore. As illustrated, the straps 14 are positioned between liner 12a andcore 12c, while the straps '15 are positioned between the liner 13a andthe core 13c. The straps 14 of panel 12 extend transversely of thedirection of the flutes, so that the straps are vertically disposed, ascan be readily appreciated from a consideration of FIG. 1. The straps 15of panel 13 are likewise disposed transversely of the direction of theflutes in the corrugated core 130, and, also as seen in FIG. 1, extendhorizontally. Thus, the straps in the respective panels extendtransversely of each other. Also, as seen in the drawing, the straps arespaced inwardly of the side edges of the panel to which they areparallel.

The panel 12 is equipped with a portion 16 adjacent the top edge of theclosure 11 that is folded on itself and is positioned interiorly of theinner side of panel 13. The folded portion extends across the doorway Das seen in FIG. 1, and is secured to the posts '10 by means of nails orother securing means 17. The straps 15 are likewise secured at theirends to the posts 10 by means of nails 18. To facilitate thissecurement, the closure 11 may be equipped with openings extendingtherethrough in positions suitable for the receipt of nails 18.

As illustrated, the panel 12 is equipped with a second folded portion 19lying along the interior lower edge of the closure 11. The foldedportion 19, like the folded portion 16, is achieved by providing anextension or overlapping portion in the panel .12 relative to the panel13. The overlapping portion, at an intermediate stage of fabrication, isdesignated in FIG. 3 by the numeral 16a relating to the top overlappingportion and the numeral 19a relating to the bottom overlapping portion.

ln the fabrication of the door, the corrugated panels 12 and 13 may beprovided from the same continuous web, designated generally by thenumeral 20 in FIG. 3. By severing a portion of the web and disposing ittransversely of the web to provide the panel designated 12 in FIG. 3,the closure 11 can be expeditiously formed. The web 20 is interiorlyequipped with the straps 14 and 15, which may be two inch wide bands offrom 16 to 22 gauge sheet steel. Once the parts are assembled, as seenin FIG. 3, the panel 12 may be united to the web 20 by any suitablemeans. Adhesively uniting the two parts 12 and 20 provides a strong,integrated closure, and for that reason is preferred. Thereafter, theweb 20 may be transversely severed to provide a closure 11 of thedesired width. At this time, the overlapping portions 16a and 19a can befolded on themselves to provide the folded portions 16 and 19 seen bestin FIGS. 1 and 2.

In the operation of the invention, the completed closure is providedusually equipped with the portion 16a in the condition seen in FIGS. 1and 2. Optionally, the portion 19a may be left unfolded and wheninstalled provides a floor flap for the grain door. When folded in theform designated 19, the door is then equipped with a pry-board in whichthe flat metal straps 14 are conveniently located near the outer surfaceof the pry-board so as to serve as bearing surfaces for a crowbar, orthe like, when the closure 11 is to be remove-d.

The shipment and handling of the closure 11 is facilitated by thepresence of the folded portion 16, since this 0 being panel 13, in whichthe flutes run transversely to the reinforcing portion 16. The tendencyin panel 13 is to collapse along lines parallel to the direction of the9 o flutes, and this is effectively opposed by the reinforcing poition16.

By providing the corrugations in the panel 12 in the direction shown,folding of the overlapping portions 16a and 19a is readily achieved.However, the advantages of the invention can be achieved when the flutesof the corrugated core 120 run otherwise than shown, since folding isreadily accomplished if the corrugated core is slightly crushed alongthe lines of folding.

When the closure 11 is installed as seen in FIG. 1, the bottom foldedportion 19 being secured by nails 21 to the posts in, the interiorstraps 14 and 15 cooperate to substantially minimize the deformation ofthe closure due to the pressure of the granular cargo. Through the useof a minimal number of straps arranged transversely to each other, thedeformation is effectively resisted. Heretofore, it was believednecessary to use a large number of straps in order to achieve thisresistance. Here, the presence of only two vertically-extending straps14 effectively reinforces the horizontal straps 15 so that only two ofthese are required. The vertical straps 14 act as columns secured atboth ends by virtue of the fact that the straps 14 are effectivelyanchored at their ends in the folded portions 16 and 19. In the eventthe bottom overlapping portion 19a is not folded but employed as a floorflap, a conventional pry-board is installed and serves as thestabilizing means for the lower end of the straps 14.

Thus, we have provided a closure which is, in effect, self-contained andready for immediate installation at any time after it has left thefactory. No longer is it necessary for the mechanics employed forinstalling doors to rip apart the door to get at the straps, install theside battens and other reinforcing boards-all of this while having toworry about non-uniformly tensioning the door, which might result in apremature failure. Here, the closure is self-supporting and requiressecurement only at a minimum number of points, so that the problem ofnon-uniform tension is effectively avoided.

While, in the foregoing specification, we have set forth a specificstructure in considerable detail for the purpose of illustrating anembodiment of the invention, it will be understood that such details ofstructure and procedure may be varied without departing from the spiritof the invention.

We claim:

1. In a temporary closure, at first laminated, generally rectangular,paperboard panel interiorly equipped with a plurality of thin flat,spaced-apart straps all parallel to a pair of edges of said panel, saidpanel having a corrugated core interposed between liners, a secondlaminated paperboard corrugated core-equipped panel also strap-equippedand secured in face-to-face relation to said first panel with the strapsof the two panels disposed generally transversely relative to eachother, with the straps in each panel extending transversely to thedirection of the flutes in the core of its associated panel, said secondpanel having a dimension in the direction of its straps longer than thedimension of the first panel transverse of its straps to provide anoverlapping edge portion in said second panel, said overlapping edgeportion being folded on itself to provide a closure reinforcing memberadjacent the edge of said first panel.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which the straps in said second panel areadjacent the side of its panel core remote from said first panel.

3. In combination with a car doorway opening having vertically-extendingside posts, a closure extending across the doorway and abutting theinner faces of said posts, said closure comprising a pair of laminatedpanels united together in face-to-face relation, one of said panelsbeing interiorly equipped with horizontally-extending thin flat straps,while the other of said panels is interiorly equipped withvertically-extending flat straps, each of said panels being equippedwith a corrugated core having the flutes thereof disposed generallyperpendicularly to the straps thereof, the other panel having its upperend portion folded on itself to form a reinforcing member extendinghori- Zontally across said doorway, securing means extending throughsaid member into said posts, and means securing saidhorizontally-extending straps to said posts.

4. The structure of claim 3 in which said other panel has its lower endportion folded on itself to form a second reinforcing member, andsecuring means extending through said second member into said posts.

5. In combination with a car doorway opening having vertically-extendingside posts, a closure extending across the doorway and abutting theinner faces of said posts, said closure comprising a pair of laminatedpanels united together in face-to-face relation, one of said panelsbeing equipped with a group of horizontally-extending thin fiat straps,While the other of said panels is equipped with a group ofvertically-extending thin flat straps, said strap groups thereby beingoriented perpendicularly to each other and disposed internally of saidclosure, each of said panels being equipped With a corrugated corehaving the flutes thereof exposed generally perpendicularly to thestraps thereof, the other of said panels having its upper end portionfolded on itself to form a reinforcing member extending horizontallyacross said doorway, securing means extending through said member intosaid posts, and means securing said horizontally-extending straps tosaid posts.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,895,625 Hummel et al. Jan. 31, 1933 2,739,920 Martin Mar. 27, 19562,797,749 Ford et al. July 2, 1957 2,871,937 Fullerton Feb. 3, 1959

